A Sad Story, That One
by lee-kins
Summary: My Daddy used to tell me a story. It was my favorite story. It was about the animals of the Chinese Zodiac. But it always made me sad...


Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket... or the Chinese Zodiac... or any Native American creation stories

Note: This story doesn't actually contain any characters from Furuba, it merely plays with the idea of the Zodiac Curse. Also, I've been on this huge Native American fables binge lately, so the story told here sort of sounds like a creation story. Either way, just my own little rendition of how the curse came into existance.

* * *

**A Sad Story, That One**

If you're really very quiet, he won't notice you. Just slide the door open.. Slowly! Step through. Don't forget, the second floor board from the doorway creaks. Step over it. Good.

He narrows his eyes through his glasses. Now's a good time to pause, stand still, see if he notices you. He pushes those glasses back up his nose and looks to an open book next to his computer. You can breath a sigh of relief: he has no idea you're there.

Muster up your courage again. This is a good plan, it will work. All you have to do is tip toe... tip toe... tip toe... jump!

He let's out a cry as you land in his lap, his glasses slipping down his nose crookedly.

"What the--!" he laughs. He slips his hands under your arms and tries to pick you up. Hold your ground. You are in his lap now, seated squarely between him and his "work" and there's no way he's going to look past you and pay more attention to that, now.

"Daddy, tell me a story," is all you have to say. And you do.

He lets out a sigh and takes the glasses from his face. He places them on his desk, next to the keyboard.

"Sweety, I can't. I'm working." That answer isn't good enough.

"What kind of work?" If you demand clarification, he has to give it to you.

"I'm telling other people stories." It's time for you to pout. How unfair, he has time to tell other people stories but not you, his one and only precious daughter? Tell him how unfair that is!

"Daddy, that's not fair! Tell me a story!" Cling to his shirt. Now he can't get you off his lap to save his life. He might even try to stand up and shake you off. But you know your daddy better than that. He's going to let out another sigh.

"Sweety..." He's going to rub his brow. "I'll never get this chapter finished." He's going to give in. "Ok, what story do you want?"

Don't forget to smile now. Say thank you, or else he won't do this again. Oh, and yes, tell him which story you want to hear.

"The one about the animals."

"That's such a sad story though..."

You don't care.

"I don't care, Daddy. That's the one I want to hear."

"Ok... ok..."

He leans back. He wraps his arms around you. Be careful, don't miss it. This is your invitation to get comfortable. Tuck your legs under you. Curl up. Lean over until your head is resting on his shoulder. He waits for you to stop fidgeting. So... stop fidgeting! Settle yourself. Look up at him to tell him you're ready. Good.

He takes a deep breath.

He starts.

_Many years ago, more years than you can count, there lived someone so precious he was called the Jade Emperor. He lived isolated in a palace made of gold. Everyday he would sit next to his window. He would look out, past his ruby gates, to the dirt roads beyond._

_One day, the Jade Emperor grew tired of looking at empty streets._ Why am I always alone? _he wondered_. I am adored. People should flock to me! They should press their faces to the ruby gates and breath, "Oh please, just a moment of your time, Emperor." And I should be occupied with endless parties and banquets. _Suddenly, the Jade Emperor knew what to do. He left his perch by the window and went off in search of paper._

_A young servant boy, tending to his daily chores, happened upon the Emperor. He was furiously scrawling something on a large sheet of perfect ivory parchment._

_"My Lord?" he said. The Jade Emperor noticed the boy and pressed the parchment into his hands._

_"Put this outside," he ordered._

_"What is it?" the little boy asked, unable to read the words._

_"It is an invitation," the Emperor explained. "An invitation to an Imperial Banquet to celebrate the new year. Post it where everyone may see it."_

_"But, who is invited?" the servant boy said._

_"Anyone!" With that the Jade Emperor pushed the servant boy out the doors of the Palace. _

xxx

_The boy posted the invitation in the middle of the town square. Every person in the empire passed it, but none took note of it. And then one day, a small creature passed by. It was the clever rat. Drawn to the invitation by the smell of expensive parchment, Rat's tiny nose twitched as he read it._

"_A royal banquet, eh?" he thought out loud. "And anyone's invited? I wonder if Dog has seen this yet." With that the clever rat left the parchment behind and scurried off to find the wicked dog._

xxx

_When Rat found him, Dog was crouched low to the ground, watching the humans pass by. He eyed each one, hungrily, as he laughed to himself. _

"_That one will feed me," he said as a man walked by. "And that one will give me a bath. And that one will give me a nice warm bed. They just don't know it yet." And just as the wicked dog was about to stop a man in his tracks, the clever rat ran up to him._

"_Did you see the post in the town square?" Rat asked._

"_What post?" Dog replied._

"_The post about the Imperial Banquet," Rat said. Dog's ears perked up. Rat explained. "Anyone in the empire is invited to the Golden Palace a week from today for an Imperial Banquet to celebrate the new year. And it's signed by the Jade Emperor himself."_

"_You don't say," Dog responded. Then the wicked dog got a wicked thought. "Does it extend to animals?"_

_The clever rat laughed. "It says anyone, doesn't it?"_

"_Well then," Dog said. "We should spread the good word."_

xxx

_The rat and the dog walked to the farthest end of the empire, just before the forests. There they stopped._

_"He should be here," the wicked dog said._

_"He will be here," the clever rat insisted. And they waited. They waited until a rumbling came from the shadows of the forest. They waited until the rumbling became so strong, they needed to hold on to rocks and trees for safety. They waited until he who they'd come to see, finally arrived._

_The grand dragon with the smoke curling around his head peered at them through the trees._

_"Why have you come here?" he asked slowly, blowing smoke into the animal's faces._

_"We have news," Dog said. "From the empire."_

_"Grand news for a grand creature," Rat added. _

_"What is this news?" Dragon asked, his interest piqued. The rat scurried up the dragon's tail, over his back and onto his head. In a sea of smoke, he bent down to whisper into the dragon's ear._

_"The Jade Emperor has set out an invitation to an Imperial banquet," he said. "It says all in the empire are invited and welcome. We should go, Grand One. Don't you think so? Dog and I do."_

_The wicked dog nodded his head. "Just think," he said. "You will be able to stroll the regal halls of the Golden Palace. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Grand One?"_

_The dragon considered the bearers of this news. The clever rat and the wicked dog were always ones to scheme. _If I follow what they say, and they are lying, I will be made a fool,_ he thought. _But if I do not follow them, and they are not lying, then I am also a fool._ Shaking the rat from the top of his head, he bent over them._

"_Bring me proof," he said. "And once you do, I will go with you." The clever rat and the wicked dog exchanged a glace, and then quickly ran to get the grand dragon his proof._

xxx

_In the square, Rat and Dog sat staring up at the invitation._

"_How are we supposed to get it," Dog asked._

"_Jump and try to grab it with your teeth," Rat offered. Dog stood and paced backward. Taking a running start he leapt, mouth open, aiming for the parchment. He missed. He tried again. He missed again._

"_This is not working," Dog sighed. He turned to the rat. "You, run up the pole and pull out the pin. It'll drop to the ground and then I'll pick it up." _

_Rat scurried up the wooden pole. He reached the top of the invitation and took the large Imperial pin in his tiny little claws. He struggled, his nails unable to grip the gold and only slipping off._

"_What's the problem?" Dog called up to him._

"_I'm not strong enough to pull out the pin," Rat answered. Then Rat saw the kind rooster at the other end of the square._

"_Rooster!" he cried out. The kind rooster lifted his head and walked over to the dog and rat._

"_What is it?" he clucked._

"_We need your help," the wicked dog smiled._

"_We are trying to bring this invitation to the Grand Dragon at the edge of the forest," the clever rat said. "But Dog has terrible aim and I am not strong enough to pull the pin. Would you fly up there and pull the pin for us? If you do, you can join us."_

"_Join you?" Rooster asked._

"_Yes," Dog said. "This is an invitation to an Imperial Banquet. We are going. If you help us, you can go too."_

_The kind rooster looked from the wicked dog to the clever rat. _

"_All right," he agreed. Then he flapped his wings and flew up to the top of the pole. He perched on top, bent over, and pulled the pin out with his beak. Dog wagged his tail and Rat clawed at the dirt in excitement._

"_Now we have Dragon's proof!" Rat cried. He jumped onto Dog's back and together they ran back to the grand dragon, with the smoke curling around his head._

xxx

"_We're back!" Dog called into the trees at the edge of the forest. The woods rumbled and the grand dragon peered out from the shadows._

"_You have proof?" he asked, smoke pouring form his nostrils._

"_Here," Rat said, holding out the parchment. "Signed by the Jade Emperor."_

"_Very well," Dragon said. "I will go. But I leave it up to you to invite the other animals."_

"_Who should we invite?" Dog asked._

"_That is up to you," Dragon answered as he disappeared into the forest yet again._

xxx

_For the third time that day, Dog and Rat ambled into the town square._

"_Well," Dog said. "Who should we invite?"_

"_Everyone, I suppose," Rat answered. "We already have Rooster and Dragon. And me and you."_

_The wicked dog's eyes scanned over the square. There were just so many animals to invite, and so little time before the banquet._

"_I know!" Dog cried suddenly. "Let's split up. I will go to the forest and invite the animals, and you will stay here to invite some more."_

"_Very well," Rat said. Then the clever rat and the wicked dog parted ways, each off to tell the animals in the Empire about the grand banquet to come._

xxx

_As Dog ran off to scour the woods, Rat casually made his way to the nearby stable. His tiny nose twitched as he searched for the animals._

"_Let's see," Rat said to himself. "Who will I find here? Horse, Sheep, Pig… and that gullible ox."_

_Suddenly, Rat heard a loud "moo."_

"_What are you doing here?" Ox demanded, watching Rat scurry by. The clever rat's nose twitched again and a clever thought entered his head. _This will be easier than I planned_, he thought._

"_Actually, I was looking for you," Rat said as he scampered up the fence Ox was standing near. He got close to the gullible ox and whispered in his ear._

"_Did you hear about the banquet?" Rat whispered._

"_What banquet?" Ox asked. _

"_Why, the Imperial Banquet," Rat said. "Everyone is invited! That includes you."_

"_I'm invited?" Ox asked, in disbelief. "I've never been invited to anything before."_

"_Well," Rat chuckled, "All the more reason to make a great first impression. Would you like to lead the line of animals into the banquet hall?"_

_The gullible ox blinked at the small rat. Rat sighed and kept talking._

"_You see," Rat said. "I was supposed to lead the animals in. But, I need help inviting them all. If you invite Horse, Pig, and Sheep for me, I will let you lead us into the Golden Palace."_

"_You will?" Ox asked. The clever rat nodded his head, a grin as wicked as Dog's sliding across his face._

"_I will," Rat agreed._

xxx

_The clever rat made himself comfortable in the middle of town square as he waited for the wicked dog's return. Finally he saw Dog walk up from the direction of the forest._

"_So, who did you invite?" Rat asked._

"_Snake, Monkey, Tiger, and Rabbit," Dog answered. "I couldn't find anyone else. Who did you invite?"_

"_Ox," Rat answered._

"_Just Ox?" Dog asked angrily._

"_Ox invited the others," the clever rat explained. "I told him if he did, I'd let him lead us into the Golden Palace."_

"_And what about the cat?" Dog asked. Rat narrowed his tiny little eyes._

"_I don't want to invite Cat," he said. Dog let out a frustrated sigh._

"_Go invite him. He's an animal too," he said. "At least tell him that there's going to be a banquet."_

"_Fine," Rat sneered. Angrily he made his way over to the simple cat's home._

xxx

_The simple cat sat outside his home, basking in the sunlight. He sat up as he saw the clever rat approach._

"_What brings you here, Rat," he asked._

"_Did you hear about the Imperial Banquet?" Rat asked in return. The simple cat shook his head. He had not._

"_Well," the clever rat said. "It's the day after a week from today. Everyone is going to be there, even the grand dragon with the smoke curling around his head."_

"_Even Dragon will be there?" Cat asked. "Thank you for telling me. I can't wait to go."_

_Rat walked away, laughing to himself. "We can't wait to see you there," he said._

xxx

_The day of the Imperial Banquet finally arrived. Outside the Golden Palace, all the animals gathered._

"_Is everyone here," the wicked dog asked. He looked at each animal and took count. _

"_That's only 12," Dog said to Rat. "Where is Cat?"_

"_Cat is going to be a little late," Rat said, trying not to laugh. "But he will be here."_

"_All right then," Dog said. "Let's go in."_

_One by one the animals lined up: Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Rat then ran up and sat on the gullible ox's head and addressed the animals._

"_We are going to make history, my friends," Rat cried. "We will be the first animals to ever set foot in the Golden Palace. Let's go!"_

_With Rat triumphantly leading the way on Ox's head, the animals made their great entrance past the Ruby Gates._

xxx

_Inside the Golden Palace, the Jade Emperor paced up and down his hallways made of ivory._

"_Where is everyone?" he asked the young servant boy._

"_I don't know, my Lord," the boy answered. "I posted the invitation in the square, where everyone could see it, just like you said."_

_Suddenly, the Emperor heard his Ruby Gates creak open._

"_They're here!" he cried._

_Overjoyed, the Jade Emperor raced through the Golden Palace. He stood at the emerald entrance and waited expectantly for his loyal subjects to greet him, thank him, and enjoy their banquet. But the Emperor's joy quickly faded. _

_At the gate was a line of filthy, stinking animals._

"_How did they get in here?" the Jade Emperor hollered to the servant boy._

"_I don't know my Lord," the boy answered, afraid. Just then, a rat, which had been riding on the back of an ox, jumped off. It ran up to the Jade Emperor's feet and tugged on his royal robes._

"_Your Highness," the clever rat said. "Which way to the banquet?"_

_Too stunned to speak and to enraged to form thought, the Jade Emperor sputtered angrily as the rat led the line of animals into the Golden Palace._

"_Never mind," Rat said. "I'm sure we'll find it."_

_As the animals passed him, one by one, the Emperor's face grew redder. Finally, as the line ended and a dog and pig crossed his path, the Emperor let out a pitiful cry._

"_What are these animals doing here?" he sobbed._

_The wicked dog turned around. "Your invitation said anyone in the empire was invited. We're part of the empire, aren't we?"_

_The Emperor's jaw hung open and he slid down to his knees. He stared at the line of animals tracking paw prints and hoof marks through his beautiful ivory halls._

"_I invite everyone in the empire," the Jade Emperor sighed. "And only these animals arrive. My only loyal subjects are rats and pigs."_

_Filled with despair the poor Emperor could do nothing but watch the animals fill the Imperial banquet hall and eat the Imperial banquet food._

xxx

_The next morning the Jade Emperor staggered into the Imperial Banquet hall to find all the animals sprawled on the floor. They had eaten so much that they merely slept the night there. Narrowing his eyes angrily, the Emperor told the servant boy to fetch the Imperial Mystic. _

_As the Emperor turned on his heel and left the banquet hall, a very excited cat came running in._

Oh, I can't wait for the Imperial Banquet_, the simple cat thought. He stopped in his tracks as he saw all the eaten food and all the sleeping animals._

"_What happened?" he asked._

"_What?" Dog answered groggily._

"_Oh, Cat," Rat said, rubbing the sleep from his tiny eyes._

"_Where is the banquet?" Cat asked._

"_You didn't make it last night?" Dog asked._

"_Last night?" Cat answered. "Rat told me the banquet was today."_

_The wicked dog shot an angry look at the clever rat._

"_Oh, no one told you?" Rat cried. "I'm so sorry! They changed the day last minute. I was sure someone told you."_

"_No one told me," the simple cat said sadly._

"_That is very sad," the clever rat lied. "But you missed the banquet. Oh well, maybe next year."_

_Stretching weariness from his little muscles the rat started to leave the banquet hall. At the door, however, a large silk shoe blocked his exit. Rat looked up to see a very angry Jade Emperor looking down at him._

"_There they are," the Emperor said, pointing to all the animals, who were all starting to wake up. "They are the only ones that came."_

"_A bunch of animals?" the Imperial Mystic commented, standing next to the Jade Emperor. "Well, what would you like me to do?" he asked._

"_These animals were more loyal to me than any of my human subjects," the Emperor explained. "I would like you to conjure up a curse."_

_All of the animals gasped. Their eyes widened and they huddled together._

"_A curse!" Dog cried out. "What kind of curse?"_

"_The invitation said nothing about a curse!" Rat added._

_The Jade Emperor counted the animals then turned to the Imperial Mystic. "Curse thirteen members of my empire," the Emperor said. "Curse them so that they are forever bound to me. Even if they have to take the shapes of these animals here, make it so that at least thirteen people will forever show the loyalty that these animals did." With that, the Jade Emperor left._

_The Imperial Mystic looked over the animals. He held out his hand and sighed. "What a sorry fate," he whispered. Then, he cursed the first thirteen members of the empire that crossed his path._

xxx

_The thirteen cursed humans were bound to the Jade Emperor, as he requested. Whenever faced with temptation to break the bond between emperor and subject, the people would transform into one of the thirteen animals that had attended the banquet that night. The curse was passed on for generations. None could break it, and it exists to this very day._

Your Daddy lets out a very heavy sigh. You are too transfixed to move, so just sit there, clinging to his shirt. One question still plagues you.

"Daddy," you ask him. He shifts to look down at you. He's waiting for you to ask your question. Go ahead. "Daddy, do you think that curse really exists?"

He lets out a weary laugh and he rubs your back.

"I don't know, sweety," he says. He lifts you off of his lap. "But you got your story. Are you happy now?"

You stand there, at the corner of his desk. You think for a moment. Are you happy now? Chew on your bottom lip, it might help you come to a conclusion. It does, and you do. You are not happy. But don't tell Daddy that. He looks tired, and he did stop working to try and make you happy. It's ok to lie, just this once.

"Yes, Daddy, I'm happy now," you lie.

He smiles and pats you on the head. This is your signal to run along now, play with your dolls. You don't really want to, though, right? But you will anyway, because Daddy said to. So you leave his office, not caring about the second floorboard from the doorway that creaks. You have greater things to think about tonight as you go to your room, line up your stuffed animals - rat to pig - and reenact your favorite story.


End file.
